Living Together
by PerthSurferGirl98
Summary: My version of Neighbours. Follows a group of kids living in Russel Avenue and the way they relate to changes in their circles of friends, relationships and life.
1. Prolouge

I looked around the room, gazing into every corner, enjoying the feel of the air con pumping chilled air out. I was grateful that Kevin convinced them to switch from evaporative air conditioning. In the corner I could see the rubbish bin overflowing. I knew that I need to take it out, but I really didn't want to. It's a personal thing against the nauseating stench that comes out of the bin, ever since Jye threw out his footy shoes. It's gross because he hadn't realized how bad it smelt. Before, when he was using them still, they stunk up his room. Also it was rubbish collection and the driver didn't like me or my dog. He and the dog had an unfortunate incident that happened almost four years ago. It wasn't pretty, him that is. I looked over to my calendar and see the day highlighted. I throw my doona back and it lands in the corner opposite to trash central. I raced around the room; looking for something to put on with my jeans. Defeated I ran into Kevin's room. He's lying down reading the Sports Monthly or something like that. I roll my eyes and open his draws.

'Hey!' He yelled at me. 'Don't nick my shirt.'

'But they're comfy. Oh, and I can't find the Chisel shirt.'

'That's where it is? You stole it?'

'Uh, well technically I borrowed it.' I smiled at him cheekily.

Kevin groaned and I grinned even wider. I loved annoying him and it's so easy. I take his Flame Trees tour shirt.

'No!' He shouted. 'No, no, no, no, anything but that shirt.'

But I didn't hear him. I was halfway down the hall. Mum was in the kitchen trying out some new recipe that smelt absolutely toxic, kind of like Jye's shoes. As I ran outside Mum yelled at me to eat some real food and not the rubbish that Jye's bound to let me eat. Mum had always been on a really healthy food diet. No sugar, no seed oils, no fatty take away and no Subway, always balancing exercise with what we ate, it was exhausting. I got bored very easily on a diet and so I would rarely stayed on one for too long, that and I don't like the taste of soya flakes, Mum always had them in the house and they were absolutely nauseating. Now I miss the soya flakes. I see them and run and vomit, literally, I think that I'm allergic to them. I ran outside to avoid her and looked into the driveway; Jye was getting out of a rusty Holden HJ Sandman Utility.

'OMGosh! It's beautiful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!' I cried, throwing myself at him. He looked uncomfortable as he tried, unsuccessfully, to prise me off him. Jye was uncomfortable with PDA's; I think that he thinks that it will pull down the wall that he had carefully built. I walked around the car with a note pad, examining every inch and taking notes on the work that needs to be done. My list was two pages long, a majority of the work needing to be done on the interior. As I was making it I waved to Mum as she left to go post the update to her family in Melbourne and get the food. The only thing on the exterior was the paint that had faded to a rusty greenish colour, I liked the colour; it was more authentic, but it really needs to be resprayed. From what I had observed, Jye and Kanga were happier for me to be interested in cars than in boys. They were so happy in fact that they had helped foot the bill for the last two jobs.

There was something though, about this car that is different. The last two had been newer by about 30 years. This one had a class and character that only a car from the '70's could carry off and it compliments it with the knowledge that you own a piece of Australian history. I don't know why but it was almost haunting. I picked up the stretcher and lay down on it, rolling under the car. Behind me in the driveway Cass and Lyle tried to start the car. I sighed and pushed myself forward rolling into the dingy garage. In the corner a wide screen television blared loudly with the news and, on occasion, it crackled with the inability to cope with the loud volume that we had it turned it up to. I walked over to Lyle and booted the car. Actually that's kind of insulting to cars. It was a heap of junk.

'Excuse me Katarina!' Lyle yelled his face red from the heat and exertion, and more recently, the humiliation of being superseded by me.

'You're excused Lyle,' I said smiling at him as I turn the car key slowly. A steady purr slowly arises from the bonnet. 'I believe your problem is fixed.' And I held out my hand for money.

'I'm not paying you.'

'It's custom to pay the mechanic.' I reminded him and then add whining; 'Besides I need the money for the car.'

He sighed and took out his wallet that is lined with fifties. He placed one in my hand; I looked at it and then back again. Muttering he added another three to the pile. I smiled sweetly and headed inside to place it in my stash. I had lied to him, Mum and Dad would have obviously foot the bill for it, but I had a stash going for me to buy my way around Australia later in life. As I walked back into the garage the headlines scrolled across the screen and I ignored them. Two minutes later the news reader crossed to a reporter who's standing next to the post office. I stood leaning against my car and watch the screen as the video unfolds. When it was over the reporter was standing next to Brian Hawkes, the Police Commissioner

'Is there any word on who this is?' She asked

'No, unfortunately not,' he replied as a picture of her driver's licence appears on the screen. The tool I was holding in my hand clatters to the ground and inside glass shattered. I ran inside.

'Dad are you okay?' I asked, my eyes wild and scared.

'They took your Mum away love. They took her away.' He whispered to me looking just as scared, as though they're going to take him away as well. He looked so sad and vulnerable. I sat him down on the couch and walk to the kitchen to make a coffee. I looked on the ground around the microwave and slowly realize what the glass was, I sighed and began to pick up the pieces carefully.

About three hours later Dad was calmer and Kanga took me down to the police station. I couldn't drive and because of my fascination with cars and my absolute lack of interest in school I barely passed year seven. I think that the only reason I passed was out of generosity for my poor Father.

I read over the pages that I have written, scribble my name on the bottom and tuck my hair behind my ear and take it to the teacher. He scans over it and watch me walk back to my seat, I smile ironically at the fact that only weeks ago I showed absolutely no interest in school and now it's almost a haven for me. That car I fixed in record time and resold it at auction for three times more. I look over at the kids sitting next to me and the girl smiles. I smile back and then start draw absently on my folder. The girl looks over my shoulder and I reposition myself. I never really know any girls and this chick is starting to not only annoy me but she's kind of scaring me. I don't like people staring at me, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

After school she comes up to me.

'Do you have a problem with me?' She asks, but I only see her mouth move. She's getting agitated and she shoves me hard into the lockers. I blink furiously and take out my earphones.

'What the hell do you want?' I say.

'You are one really weird girl,' she laughs harshly. The noise from her is grating on my ears.

'Yeah whatever,' I mutter and walk out of the school, but she follows.

'Aren't you Kevin's younger sister?'

'What gave it away? Was it the family resemblance?'

'That's just silly, everyone knows that he's adopted.' She giggles. 'But he is cute.'

I feel sick and then she starts to get violent.

'Why won't you talk to me? I'm a very nice person!' She yells pushing me again. This time my space has been violated and I push back harder, she slaps me so I slap her, she pulls on my hair and before I know it we're rolling on the floor biting, slapping and tearing at each other's hair. Then I'm lifted off of her and restrained.

'Calm down Kat, calm down,' Kanga says with his arm across my shoulder protectively.

'Thank goodness you came when you did Kevin,' the girl gushes breathlessly. 'I don't know what came over her, she just started hitting me.'

'I bet she did America,' He says supressing a smile. 'But I know my sister and I highly doubt that she did. I also know you and you do have a tendency to get into catfights.'

'That's not fair. You're just biased towards her because she's your sister, teachers can't do that!'

'I'm not being biased towards my sister; you're record does show that you have some violent tendencies.'

The crowd is starting to dissipate and Kevin tells the rest to rack off. I drop my head and he tells me to go wait with Jye who gives me a hug.

As we pull into the street I see a truck rumble out of our driveway and I unbuckle myself and run down the street.

'Dad! Dad?' I yell. 'Dad, what are you doing?'

'We're going to move,' he tells me as he wraps up an ornament that Dad had gotten Mum for her birthday, then he realizes what it is and starts to unwrap it again and drops it. It shatters into millions of pieces, joining the other shattered memories.

'So when you say "move", you mean down the street or to the other side of town. Right?'

He looks at me and scoffs, 'No, when I say "move", I mean to Melbourne.'

The vase I'm holding slips and I grab it quickly and I look at him in shock. He loves Darwin, why would he want to move away from his home? I look at him and roll my eyes.

'Pathetic,' I spit. 'Just because she's dead doesn't mean that we have to move. I like it here, it's my home.' As tears prick my eyes, I turn and do the thing that I've begun to do a lot. I run. As I run down the driveway, I slam into a tall, broad body.

'What's going on Kat?' Jye asks.

'We're moving to Melbourne,' I tell him bluntly.


	2. Chapter 1

I look out the window and watch the sun set over the clouds, making it look like it's on fire, somehow set alight by my constant staring. I remind myself that I have nothing better to do with my time. I think about reading the books that Dad gave me earlier but one look out the window has me knowing that there won't be enough sunlight left to read in. I lean down and rummage around in my leather satchel until my hand touches the warmish plastic and I withdraw my I-pod and plug it into my head. I scroll through the list of music I had handpicked only a couple of weeks ago when Mum had given this to me as my birthday present. As the music starts to play soothed feelings washes over me, music has that effect on me. I watch as the sun sets over the extensive dirt plain and wish that I had chosen to ride in the car with one of the boys or even, right now, Dad. I didn't know what these people were like or who they were. I again rummage in my bag and bring out the picture of the people I'm to stay with until Dad arrives in Russell Avenue. I know a little bit about the family, that they have, perhaps five or six children, all of whom are named after some kind of flower. I look at the woman, she looks a bit like me, nothing like my mother, she and I have the same waist length dark hair, the same olive coloured skin. But I have something that she doesn't, my green eyes and brown streaks are so different to her grey eyes that are almost scary and plain black hair, she is in some ways, boring. It pains me to see a woman so close to my mother through blood, but it doesn't mean that I'm not going to give her hell. I don't want to be on this flight, moving to Melbourne or missing my mother and I'm not afraid to let anyone know it. Above me the seat belt light's turned on and I hesitantly clip it on, preparing myself for whatever fresh hell life has decided to throw at me. As the planes wheels touch the tarmac I can help give giving a small, nervous giggle than catch myself, and wonder if I've shown a chink in my armour. The chink that absolutely no-one can know that I have, I don't want anyone to know that I can't sleep at night because I worry that someone will take Dad from me, that if I close my eyes, there won't be anyone there anymore. I guess that maybe it's because I've always been insecure, I mean everyone else actually look like my parents, but I don't look like my dad or my mother. I look like her in some respects, she had darkish skin and full lips like I do, but I look more like her father, my Pop than anyone else. He has dark, dark skin and dark brown hair. I think that this makes me scared about what other people think about me, not that I actually care, but it means that I'm vulnerable to attacks on my character, on my country, my ethnicity and most of all, my mother. I had gotten comments like that when I was younger, and what upset me was this tall man was right, I looked nothing like my parents, and even Kevin looks like Dad.

When the plane stops I stand and tug my satchel out from under the seat in front of me and carry on down into my arms, my earphones still in my ears. I take a look at the steps that lead down to the wet, grey concrete and take a deep breath of the moist Victorian air that chills my lungs and make me think longingly of the wet, unrelentingly hot air in Darwin that echoes of the Build Up season. Behind me a tall, balding man coughs and I realize that I've been holding up traffic and I climb down feeling chilled in my black top, jeans and leather boots that zip up to my knees. I know that there's a jacket in my satchel, but, in a way the chilly air brings me back to reality and I can actually function. I trudge, almost wearily to the terminal and find a woman and her family staring at me. The children, disturbingly, look so much like my mother I have to bite my cheek to stop me from dropping my satchel and running the opposite direction and screaming with the injustice that these children who really never knew my mother could have inherited her looks. I look at the woman levelly and look for any recognition in her cat like grey eyes. I smirk as I hoist my bag onto my shoulder and approach them, holding my head high, feeling proud, but knowing that I am lying to myself. Perhaps they see through my ruse, through my mask, and see that I'm just a scared girl, without my mother. It's unfair that these children whose parents look like they've never done a thing in their lives can still have parents, when my mother who worked her butt off is dead and my father who had one of the best work ethics is withdrawn and almost like a hermit. As I come closer I realize that I still have my I-pod on, but I don't make any move to take it out. I may appear anti-social, but at least they'll get the message that I don't want any friends. Won't they?

The woman runs forward to me, tripping over her long dress, her hair spilling out of her head band. As she embraces me I become rigid, unsure of what to do. I don't like hugs; I'm not a touchy-feely person. My sister cry's when a bunny gets hit by a car, I laugh, I guess that's why she was never invited to come shooting with us. She would have cried and been hysterical. I don't like hysterical people, they annoy me.

But the woman quickly gets the picture and her hands drop away from me, as she does I go and look for the luggage belt. When they get there I've got my pack and Roxy case on the floor by me. One of the girls looks at the bags and then back at me.

'Is something wrong?' I snap at her.

She looks away embarrassed that she was caught looking and I can't help feel a pang of guilt through the satisfaction of scaring and embarrassing her. I may seem mean but so long as I'm here I don't care who I take it out on. When I try to pull all of the bags one collapses on the floor. I swipe a brief tear away and bend down to pick it up, but as I do my hand collides with a larger one, this hand is rough and calloused. I look up into the deep, ocean like eyes of a boy who is perhaps a year older than me, but I wouldn't know, I'm no good at guessing ages. He doesn't look like any of the other kids but I had seen him standing with them. He picks up two of my bags and I take one and my board, he leads me back towards my aunt and they show me the way to the car park. I think that I could have spotted the bucket a kilometre away. Next to me is a Holden Monaro, it looks like an original. I walk closer to get a better look.

'Katarina, you can't just do that!' My aunt exclaims as I run my hand across the orange paint job. 'You don't know who it belongs to.'

'So you're interested in cars?' The tall boy asks.

'I was,' I say. 'Until the…' my voice drops off at the end as I think about the incident that even though it happened over a year ago it still hurts.

'I heard about it,' he says sympathetically.

I don't want to like him but I can't help a small smile at him. He's just too nice and is already working his way into my heart. I afford him a smile before I duck as he swings my board around, narrowly missing my head.

'Kai, how about I take the board, perhaps you could deliver my niece better than the board,' my uncle smiles at me as he says this.

When all of my baggage has been loaded into the Monaro and the van I slide into the car with Kai. The van pulls out and heads in one direction and, oh, ha, that was funny, perhaps I better say one way, and we head the other way. I look at him closer and see that the caramel colour of his hair has blonde streaks through it.

'Are you kidnapping me?' I ask.

'I don't think I'd be able to put up with you for long enough to kidnap you,' he answers dryly.

We drive in silence and after a few minutes I get sick of it and put my buds into my ears, but the minute that I do so he takes them out and begin a conversation.

'Where you close to her?' He asks.

'Not really. She was like a Drill Sergeant to us,' I tell him. 'She loved us though. I think.'

He nods at me and turns the radio on and then speaks again, 'Did you always live in Darwin?'

'Yes.'

'I've only been there once, isn't that sad?'

'Most people haven't been there ever.'

'Do you miss your friends?'

'No.'

'Why?'

'Because after my mum died they started acting weird, they started being nice to me. But not a real nice, a fake nice that anyone with half a brain could see that they were pretending. It was a weird sensation.'

'So you lost all your friends?'

'Not all,' I say with a smile. I just can't help it. 'Just most.'

'But I would have thought that after that you would appreciate people being nice to you.'

'Nice is over-rated,' I reply. 'The only issue I have is with people being fake.'

'Am I fake?'

I take him in, the niceness of him and his genuine interest in my life. I think about it carefully. 'No, I think that you're honest though. This means that you'd be a good friend to your friends.'

He smiles at me and I relax, deciding that having maybe one friend would be ok. The rest of the trip is quiet, but that's okay. I decide that I like quiet. I look out the window and watch the country side. It's so different to the dry grass in the North and it's almost unnatural. I eventually come to the decision to keep my eyes closed.

I don't remember falling asleep but when I wake up the car's parked in front of a shop, and I look around confused and disorientated. I don't know where I am but something somewhere in my brain tells me that I'm safe from whoever Dad was talking about. I stretch my neck up and look across the street at an English fronted terrace house. The garden's immaculate with amazingly green grass and perfectly rounded rose bushes on the outskirts of the garden at some stage someone had tied fairy lights onto a tree in the middle of the garden. On the balcony sits a white table with a crystal glass full of roses from the front yard and deep purple lavender flowers that were slightly wilted. I open the door of the car and see an old man sitting on the bench that's decorated with blue cushions and a white throw. I slide my Billabong sunglasses up onto the top of my head and step out, my boots adding about an inch onto my small stature. I didn't know him personally but I did know that he was my mum's dad.


	3. Chapter 2

Kai

I lean on the top of my car and watch her walk up to the house. I can see by the way that she walks that she isn't used to her environment and is therefore puts on a tough front to fool people around her. There's something entrancing in watching her hips swing, not purposely like the girls at school but unconsciously. She's a fighter, a survivor and probably a good friend. She looks like she would be. As she steps into the house I hear the voice of my girlfriend, Raven Grant, and our friend Kody Jansen as they approach my car.

'Hey boyfriend,' Raven says to me.

'Hey girlfriend,' I answer automatically.

'Sup Blondie?' Kody greets me.

'Not much Wookie. How 'bout you?'

'When are you going to let that go?'

'Same time that you stop calling me Blondie.'

'Half past never, is what he is trying to say Shaggy,' Raven explains to the dreadlocked boy in front of us.

'Oh...'

I hear the door to Daryl's house and the three of us turn to the door to see an upset Kat standing in the doorway of her Grandfather's house. It's the first sight of emotion all day, the first sign of emotion other than indifference and the small smiles she has managed to give me on one or two occasions today. She's pretty when she smiles but right now she's scowling down the driveway and I see her walk onto the verge and kick the dirt into the air and covering her boots as her facial expression turned from a scowl to veiled and unreadable as she noticed that there was an audience. She glances at Raven and I see a flicker of something in her eyes but it's so quick I can't tell if I imagined it or not.

'Who's the hottie having a rage over there?' Kody asks as Ebony and Logan join us.

'Yeah who is she?' Raven asks.

'Her names Katarina Davis, she's Daryl's granddaughter,' I explain.

'She looks troubled,' Ebony murmmers. 'Why is she here?'

'Shut up you fruitcake,' Raven sneers at her sister. 'Noone cares why shes here because we're not befriending her. Are we?'

Kody is quick to shake his head in agreement with Raven.

'You might not but I will be. She seems troubled and I want to find out why. Besides she needs a friend,' Ebony says defiantly. 'Right Kai?'

'Yeah, you're right,' I agree.

'What? Logan?' Raven gasps.

'I'm with Kai on this one,' he says as he eyes up Kat.

I step in front of him and shake my head, 'She is off limits.'

'Come on man, you have a chick. Why should you get her too?'

'Yeah, why? Do you fancy her or something?' Harley Nixon asks.

'Harley, what an unpleasent surprise,' I say. 'Actually it's no surprise because your always here aren't you?'

Harley's my ex-bestfriend and lives in the house next to mine; well actually he lives next to Daryl's house but seeing as I live with him then he lives next to us.

There's a lot of bad blood between the two of us due to me going out with his sister, Ruby, and then breaking up with her for Raven. The thing is Ruby doesn't hold it against me but Harley, man; Harley just wants to throttle me and ruin my life.

'Hey babe! What's up?' Harley yells at Kat.

A furious and embarrassed Kat turns to look at us.

'Have you been there all the time Kai?' She yells. 'With all your mates?'

As she yells at us she storms over not looking at all intimidating at five feet. But what is intimidating is the look on her face. As she gets to the car she rears up to her full height and looks up at the group of us. I can hear Raven snicker as she looks at the 15 year old stand in front of us. Ebony pushes us all aside to get to Kat and sticks out her hand.

'I'm Ebony,' she says with a wide smile. 'You must be Kat Russell.'

I close my eyes as I wait for the fall out over using the name Russell but it never comes.

'Not Russell, Davis. Russell is my mum's maiden name,' Kat replies, as she looks at the hand which Ebony quickly drops to her side.

'Hey, new girl, the polite thing to do is shake someone's hand when they put it out, maybe you don't do that in the middle of nowhere,' Raven growls at her.

'Oh I'm sorry I didn't realise that people here are as stupid as you are,' Kat growls right back. 'I lived in Darwin not Antarctica.'

Raven turns a strange shade of purple with rage as Kat stares at her with her hip cocked. Green eyes drill into the onyx coloured eyes of Raven.

'This is hot!' Logan exclaims and Harley nods in agreement. Kat turns to look at the pair who grin at her.

'I don't know either of you but I hate you both,' she yells. 'In fact I hate all of you. I hate you guys, I hate my dad and I hate this entire state and you know what I really hate?'

'Umm, your taste in fashion?' Raven asks.

'No there's no beach anywhere near here!' She screams at us and before throwing a rock at her grandfather's window. I slowly count down from ten, before the door bursts open and her furious grandfather storms out of the house.

'Which one of you morons threw the rock?' Daryl bellows.

'Kat did Daz. Why would we?' Raven simpers.

'Because you're a bunch of idiots.'

'It's true Daryl,' I say.

'Would you all stop accusing my granddaughter?'

'I did throw the rock Daryl. I'm sorry,' Kat simpers, looking sweetly at her grandfather.

'Hm, don't do it again,' he tells her before turning to us. 'You lot, weren't you going down to the beach tonight?'

'Yeah, I'm not sure if it's still on though,' Ebony tells him.

'Well take Kat. I won't be home for dinner; I'm going out with Reyna,' he says before turning around, walking inside and slamming the door.

'So there is a beach around here?' Kat says turning to look at us.

'Yeah its five minutes down the road. Harley will take you, won't cha Harls?' Raven grins slyly.

'Why can't Kai take me?'

'Because he's my boyfriend. Hands off.'

'You know Raven, jealousy doesn't suit you. You don't look so good in green, I'd try blue or maybe red,' Harley smirks.

'Harley,' Raven simpered sweetly. 'No one asked you.'

'Whatever Raven, if you're gonna be jealous she can ride with me. She probably doesn't want to be in a car with you if you're going to be a cow,' Harley sneered.


End file.
